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The Harder They Come

Jimmy Cliff · 1972

Uptempo reggae skank for practicing the offbeat hi-hat and backbeat.

Artist
Jimmy Cliff
Year
1972
Genre
reggae
Drummer
session (uncredited)
Tempo
112 bpm
Time
4/4
Feel
reggae skank
Difficulty
beginner

Drummer's Quick-Start

Practice tempos

Woodshed
68bpm
Building
90bpm
Target
112bpm

The feel

A reggae skank in 4/4 around 112 BPM. A comfortable mid-tempo — lock the backbeat first, then shape the dynamics.

What to watch

  • •Play to a metronome and prize consistency over speed — even time is the whole game.

How to learn it

Well-known tutorials exist for this one — use the links below, and play along from your own copy.

Generated from this song's groove profile — analysis only, no notation. A human-reviewed AI brief with a full groove breakdown, key moments and song map replaces this as briefs roll out.

Learn it

Find drum tutorials on YouTube ↗

iDrum links to where lessons already live — we don't host recordings or publish transcriptions. Play along from your own music.

Discussion

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